EA announces December start date for Anthem’s closed alpha

EA has announced that the closedalpha for BioWare’s upcoming multiplayer space shooter Anthem will begin on December 8th for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

While EA says the closed beta event – which runs from December 8th to December 9th – is an opportunity for players to experience the game, it also warns that BioWare will be “adjusting things like matchmaking and server load on the fly”. As such, the event is “more limited than what we want to share in the pre-launch demos”.

Given the Anthem Closed Alpha’s limited nature, players that want to join in will need to sign up to EA’s Community Playtest programme by December 3rd. Access will be available on all platforms – PC, Xbox One, and PS4 – but participants can only register to play on one device.

EA also notes that multiple play sessions are being held over the course of the two day closed alpha event, and that players can participate in as many of these as they like. Full details can be found on the publisher’s Anthem Closed Alpha page.

Anthem, which is scheduled to launch on February 22nd next year, has struggled to win over fans skeptical of game’s dramatic departure from BioWare’s usual story-rich, single-player fare. As a result, throughout Anthem’s development, the studio has continued to reassure the community that it hears the demand for more Mass Effect and Dragon Age.

Indeed, a new BioWare blog post published earlier today has once again teased “some secret Dragon Age stuff” that the developer is currently working on. “Look for more on this in the coming month (though I won’t tell you where to look…)”, it wrote.